The Searchers: The Hidden Love Story of Ethan and Martha
Last month I watched The Searchers for the second time on the big screen at the Filmoteca and it was a wonderful experience. While writing a few thoughts on this acclaimed western for the monthly round-up of August, I realised that I wanted to write something more about the relationship between John Wayne's character Ethan Edwards and his brother's wife Martha Edwards (played by Dorothy Jordan) and add some gifs and screenshots made by me. (A search online revealed that a lot has been written about them already, even Wikipedia has a small section dedicated to their relationship!)
NOTE: If you are not familiar with the film and you want to read a synopsis first before reading the rest of this post, you can go here. It contains spoilers so read with caution.
The Searchers is not your typical western. It may seem like a standard cowboy and Indian film on the surface but there's much more to it than that. The reason why this film lends itself to in-depth study is its complex main character Ethan Edwards and the fact that the story is multi-layered and ambiguous. Many things are hinted at but never explicitly expressed in words. It's perfect for analysis and speculation.
One of these hidden layers is the relationship between Ethan Edwards and his brother's wife Martha. Director John Ford applies the show, don't tell method, a writer's technique, and he lets looks and small gestures speak for themselves. It's evident that Ethan and Martha have feelings for one another but since nothing is explained, it's up to the viewer to fill in the blanks and interpret the images for themselves.
The film begins with a great shot of Martha opening the door of the ranch and stepping out on the front porch. There's someone appearing in the distance and she doesn't know yet who he is. When she realises it's Ethan, her brother-in-law, she looks at her husband Aaron (Walter Coy) and seems a bit anxious. On a first viewing there is not much in this opening scene to indicate that Martha is in love with Ethan. Ford slowly builds up tension between Ethan and Martha by adding glances and gestures in the next scenes. It's done in a subtle way.
The film begins with a great shot of Martha opening the door of the ranch and stepping out on the front porch. There's someone appearing in the distance and she doesn't know yet who he is. When she realises it's Ethan, her brother-in-law, she looks at her husband Aaron (Walter Coy) and seems a bit anxious. On a first viewing there is not much in this opening scene to indicate that Martha is in love with Ethan. Ford slowly builds up tension between Ethan and Martha by adding glances and gestures in the next scenes. It's done in a subtle way.
When Ethan gets off his horse, he greets his brother with a handshake. Then he sees Martha, goes up to her and takes off his hat. Martha says, "Welcome home, Ethan" and he gives her a kiss on the forehead. She retreats to go into the house but does this backwards, as to not let her eyes off him.
Everybody goes inside and a scene follows where Martha takes Ethan's coat. Pay attention to the way they look at one another.
When Martha leaves the room to put away Ethan's coat, the camera follows her and in the next shot we see Ethan's eyes gazing in her direction, following her into the room.
The next scene takes place at the dinner table where Jeffrey Hunter as Martin is joining them. Ethan sits next to Martha, Aaron is sitting opposite of the table. I read that this positioning of the characters around the table is by no means coincidental but something Ford composed deliberately to infer meaning. After dinner, once the children have gone to bed, the adults gather around the fireplace and we catch more meaningful looks between Ethan and Martha. Aaron makes a remark about Ethan wanting to clear out before the Civil War but staying around nonetheless. When Aaron says, "You stayed beyond any real reason. Why?", Martha interrupts him, probably because she knows the answer. A moment later, when Martha goes over to the mantelpiece to pick up a burning lamp, Ethan reaches out to help her and his hand touches hers. Again his eyes follow her when she goes into the bedroom. The tension is palpable. Ethan then goes outside to sit on the porch and looks behind him to see his brother go into the bedroom and close the door. We sense Ethan's loneliness and longing.
All these little moments are subtle hints, yet the most poignant moment and for me the clearest indication of how Martha feels about Ethan is when, on the following day, she gets his coat, takes a moment and caresses it gently. She's unaware that the Reverend (Ward Bond) is witness to this. The look on the Reverend's face while drinking his coffee (I didn't see anything, don't mind me) when Martha comes into the room and gives Ethan his coat is priceless. Ethan says farewell and gives Martha a kiss on the forehead. The whole scene plays out without words but is really powerful and it's a testimony to Ford's craftsmanship. All is accompanied by the beautiful tune Lorena, an authentic Civil War ballad, here used as Martha's Theme.
From the opening sequence until the moment when Ethan and Martin discover the death of their loved ones (with Ethan crying out Martha's name twice but not his brother's name) takes about twenty minutes. These first twenty minutes are most important since herein lies the motivation behind our main character's quest. The use of suggestion is brilliantly done, and if one recognises the love between Ethan and Martha as a major plot element, the film becomes much more interesting and Ethan's motivation to find his nieces is fueled by something stronger than just the wish to avenge his brother's murder. There's even a far more interesting implication, and that is that Debbie could be Ethan's daughter. In the film Ethan's eight-year absence is mentioned as well as Debbie's age (eight years old). I read people argue that Lucy could be Ethan's daughter too. One person was even going so far as to suggest that it was Ethan who killed Lucy himself after having found her raped and thus tainted with Comanche blood. Ethan's strong reaction to finding his niece is one of Wayne's best moments of the film. ("What do you want me to do, draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don’t ever ask me. As long as you live, don't ever ask me more.")
So what about Ethan and Martha? It's possible they have never acted upon their feelings and just have been secretly in love. They could also have been lovers before Martha's marriage to Ethan's brother Aaron, or maybe there was an affair during the marriage. If they had been involved before Martha's marriage, the question arises why she didn't marry Ethan instead of his brother. I think it makes sense to argue that Aaron was the safer option of the brothers, Ethan being a drifter and maybe not willing to settle down. Women are often attracted to the adventurous type but when it comes to a lasting relationship, they choose the steady dependable type, someone who is close by.
Everybody goes inside and a scene follows where Martha takes Ethan's coat. Pay attention to the way they look at one another.
The next scene takes place at the dinner table where Jeffrey Hunter as Martin is joining them. Ethan sits next to Martha, Aaron is sitting opposite of the table. I read that this positioning of the characters around the table is by no means coincidental but something Ford composed deliberately to infer meaning. After dinner, once the children have gone to bed, the adults gather around the fireplace and we catch more meaningful looks between Ethan and Martha. Aaron makes a remark about Ethan wanting to clear out before the Civil War but staying around nonetheless. When Aaron says, "You stayed beyond any real reason. Why?", Martha interrupts him, probably because she knows the answer. A moment later, when Martha goes over to the mantelpiece to pick up a burning lamp, Ethan reaches out to help her and his hand touches hers. Again his eyes follow her when she goes into the bedroom. The tension is palpable. Ethan then goes outside to sit on the porch and looks behind him to see his brother go into the bedroom and close the door. We sense Ethan's loneliness and longing.
All these little moments are subtle hints, yet the most poignant moment and for me the clearest indication of how Martha feels about Ethan is when, on the following day, she gets his coat, takes a moment and caresses it gently. She's unaware that the Reverend (Ward Bond) is witness to this. The look on the Reverend's face while drinking his coffee (I didn't see anything, don't mind me) when Martha comes into the room and gives Ethan his coat is priceless. Ethan says farewell and gives Martha a kiss on the forehead. The whole scene plays out without words but is really powerful and it's a testimony to Ford's craftsmanship. All is accompanied by the beautiful tune Lorena, an authentic Civil War ballad, here used as Martha's Theme.
From the opening sequence until the moment when Ethan and Martin discover the death of their loved ones (with Ethan crying out Martha's name twice but not his brother's name) takes about twenty minutes. These first twenty minutes are most important since herein lies the motivation behind our main character's quest. The use of suggestion is brilliantly done, and if one recognises the love between Ethan and Martha as a major plot element, the film becomes much more interesting and Ethan's motivation to find his nieces is fueled by something stronger than just the wish to avenge his brother's murder. There's even a far more interesting implication, and that is that Debbie could be Ethan's daughter. In the film Ethan's eight-year absence is mentioned as well as Debbie's age (eight years old). I read people argue that Lucy could be Ethan's daughter too. One person was even going so far as to suggest that it was Ethan who killed Lucy himself after having found her raped and thus tainted with Comanche blood. Ethan's strong reaction to finding his niece is one of Wayne's best moments of the film. ("What do you want me to do, draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don’t ever ask me. As long as you live, don't ever ask me more.")
So what about Ethan and Martha? It's possible they have never acted upon their feelings and just have been secretly in love. They could also have been lovers before Martha's marriage to Ethan's brother Aaron, or maybe there was an affair during the marriage. If they had been involved before Martha's marriage, the question arises why she didn't marry Ethan instead of his brother. I think it makes sense to argue that Aaron was the safer option of the brothers, Ethan being a drifter and maybe not willing to settle down. Women are often attracted to the adventurous type but when it comes to a lasting relationship, they choose the steady dependable type, someone who is close by.
So it could be that Martha and Ethan found true love with each other but gave it up for something else: Martha wanted safety and a family, Ethan didn't want to abandon his wandering lifestyle and refused to be tied down. We can speculate about this but can we ever be sure? When browsing the internet and looking for more information, I stumbled upon an excerpt, via Google books, from Michael Munn's John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth. Wayne says to Munn: "A lot of people ask me why Ethan had become so hell-bent on killing Debbie and then, at the final moment, takes her home. Pappy* was clever because he hinted, and so did I, that Ethan had had an affair with his brother's wife. But we didn't spell it out. It was for the audience to figure out. So Ethan's thirst for vengeance wasn't just for killing his brother, but also for killing the woman Ethan had loved. When Ethan picks up Debbie at the end, I had to think, what's going through his mind as he looks into her face? I guess he saw in her eyes the woman he'd loved. That was enough to overcome his hatred. Wow! That was a terrific moment. And a great part for me to have the opportunity to play."
*) John Wayne usually called John Ford Coach or Pappy.
*) John Wayne usually called John Ford Coach or Pappy.
NOTE CONCERNING CASTING: John Ford's casting choice for Ethan isn't so difficult to understand. Wayne and Ford had been working together for years. Still, Wayne was not the director's first choice, simply because he was nearing his fifties and this meant he was twenty years older than the character Ethan. Fortunately, Wayne got the part and it's regarded as the best of his career. Reportedly he himself considered the role of Ethan to be his favourite one and he even named his son Ethan after his character.
Dorothy Jordan was cast as Martha Edwards. She was a silent actress who made the transition to talkies (I have seen her in The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) with Richard Barthelmess and Bette Davis). She married producer Merian C. Cooper who was a good friend of John Ford. Cooper and Ford frequently worked together and embarked on a partnership with Argosy Pictures Corporation. Jordan already retired in the 1930s to devote herself to family life and came out of retirement in the 1950s to appear in three Ford films, The Sun Shines Bright, The Searchers and The Wings of Eagles. After The Wings of Eagles in 1957 she retired permanently. Her role of Martha Edwards in The Searchers is small but it's a pivotal one.
*The Searchers (1956), opening shot with Dorothy Jordan and closing shot with John Wayne, in one picture;
*The Searchers (1956), opening shot with Dorothy Jordan;
*The Searchers (1956) with Dorothy Jordan;
*The Searchers (1956) with Dorothy Jordan and Walter Coy;
*The Searchers (1956) with Dorothy Jordan and John Wayne;
*The Searchers (1956) with Walter Coy, Dorothy Jordan and John Wayne; (3 screenshots) *)
*The Searchers (1956) with Dorothy Jordan; *)
*The Searchers (1956) with Walter Coy and John Wayne; *)
*The Searchers (1956) with Dorothy Jordan, John Wayne, Walter Coy and Jeffrey Hunter;
*The Searchers (1956) with Walter Coy, Dorothy Jordan and John Wayne;
*The Searchers (1956) with Walter Coy, Dorothy Jordan and John Wayne;
*The Searchers (1956) with Ward Bond and Dorothy Jordan;
*The Searchers (1956) with Ward Bond, Dorothy Jordan and John Wayne;
*The Searchers (1956) with Ward Bond, Dorothy Jordan and John Wayne;
*The Searchers (1956), on the set with John Wayne;
*Young Dorothy Jordan.
*) screenshot made by me
*ALL GIFS IN THIS POST MADE BY ME!